Tuesday, October 29, 2013

In the 9 a.m. hour, morning host Bo Thompson will preside over a topical segment keyed to the day's major story or something trending in the news. Expect extended interviews and calls from listeners.Larson, who's held the hour since coming to WBT in 2002 and announced the change on the air Tuesday morning, says he's fine with it. He hopes to do more writing after the success of his book on Hope Stout and the Panthers, "That Season of Hope," and his side advertising and marketing business is picking up steam. "A change in daily schedule and body-clock will work well," says Larson, who habitually shows up at WBT at dawn to prepare for his show. "WBT is a part of who I am and what I do."

WBT program director Jason Furst says it will give Thompson, who succeeded Al Gardner as the morning news show host in 2012, a chance to do more long-form content and give him a more prominent role."Bo is the rising star at the station," says Furst.Thompson is one of the few local broadcast personalities who grew up in Charlotte. He was still a student at Myers Park High School when he started working part-time at WBT in 1990, and here's an irony: His first gig there was as an intern for Mike Collins, whose hour-long "Charlotte Talks" show runs at 9 a.m. on WFAE-FM (NPR 90.7), opposite Thompson's new hour.